Reviews by JRed:

Pours reddish brown with off-white head. Hops, hop resin, grass, toffee, caramel in the nose. Thick mouthfeel; earth, malty, toffee, spices, dough, hop bitter in taste. Light in carbonation but thick enough to warrant this brew as a fall seasonal. A good thick-bodied brew that sits on the palate as tough as it fits on the belly.

More User Reviews:

Me and my wife watch Deadliest Catch weekly, so honestly I grabbed this partly for that reason,made by Rogue and knowing there would be plentiful hops also helped.Poured into a imperial nonic a dull amber/bronze with a tight one finger light tannish colored head atop that slowly faded leaving multiple rings of lace.A mix of sharp amarillo citric/piney cascade hop along with some caramel and brown sugar.Flavors are nice but the reins seem to be held back a little, hefty caramel and brown sugar sweet malt up front,the hops come in and give a nice lingering sharp citric finish.Mouthfeel is creamy and coating and the drinkibility is nice for the abv,well made.

Look ~ pours a rich coppery brown color. clarity is very good (until last poor). head is awesome: rises about four fingers on a hard pour; texture is incredibly moussy; color is off-white; it falls at a very, very slow pace with some truly great lacing. some good visible carbonation. perfect for style.

Smell ~ a lot of fruit going on. malts come through first for me: some melanoidins (figs, dates) and a good hint of kettle carmelization (but this was not overpowering). hops are a little too light for style, but i get some citrus and grapefruit (common northwest hops but I was disappointed to not get pine and resin that I love and associate with cascadian brews). not totally sure, but I think that the yeast supports these fruit flavors and brings them together with a bit of lighter fruit and even some very delicate floral notes. very nice, but a little off from style because of weak hops.

Taste ~ similar to aroma. I get malt first: the caramel notes a bit stronger on the palate and they come out first, backed up by the fruitier notes of figs and dates. again, the hops are a bit too light and are very grapefruit and citrus rather than pine or resin. hop bitterness is great for balance the malt. a decent helping of lighter fruity esters without perfume of floral notes. this was an exceptionally balanced brew.

Feel ~ medium-light body and medium carbonation. the carbonation was a little light, but carbonation wasn't needed to dry out the finish because of the great hop balance. some nice mouth-coating hop oil feel. a touch of unwelcome astringency from the bitterness.

Really greatly balanced brew. Highly drinkable. But for a brew called 'northwest,' for this style, and from this brewery I would have liked to have seen a bit more of a cascadian hop showcase.

Ruddy brown pour with orange and red accents. Creamy inch of light tan foam on top. Patchy lacing and a bit murky. Aromas of rich malts upfront with caramel and fruit in the forefront. Chocolate and roast come through nicely as well. Piny hops forward with citric resins as well. Quite nice.

First sip brings smooth malts upfront. Notes of caramel, fruits and cocoa along with a mellow roast. Big hops flow in with resinous herbal and pine along with citrus accents. Bitterness kicks in on the finish. A nice malty, hoppy red ale that is well built.

Creamy, medium mouthfeel and good carbonation. Goes down nice and overall is a tasty brew. Wish I had some fresh crab to eat with it right now!! Overall, nothing earth shattering but a well made drink. Wish the bomber was a tad cheaper.

In my pint glass this beer was an amber color with a 2 inch beige head and abundant lacing. It had a caramel and citrus aroma. The taste was dominated by grapefruit, and I lost whatever malt I had in the aroma. The beer verged on being too sharp, and I found myself taking a good length of time to drink it.

Presentation: It was poured from a brown 1 pint, 6oz bottle into a tulip glass. The bottle has nice list of ingredients use including the malts and hops. The IBUs are listed at 80 but there is no ABV% or freshness date.

Appearance: On top of a dark and very hazy burgundy body sits a big rocky or frothy head. It is light tan in color and very clingy. Thick lacey patterns stick everywhere on the glass.

Smell: The aroma has a heavy pine like hop presence right as I open the bottle. Underneath the bold hops are solid rich malty sweet notes.

Taste/Palate: Up first on the tongue are nice piney hop flavor notes with some hints of herbal, almost tea like, hops. The rich sweet maltiness backs this hop bitterness up and offers a good solid bass of bready flavor and sweetness. The finish has a very slow herbal and citrus hops fade that lingers on the tongue. Its palate has a smooth yet lively texture.

Notes: Mmmmm yes this is very good and puts me in the mood for some crab fishing action!!! Cheers!!!

Taste has pine, earthy, and grapefruity bitter hops front and center. Signature Pacman yeast is in evidence along with a subtle toasty caramel malt base. Long finish is bitter with a pine hop resin flourish.

Nothing exceptional here, but very solid and well executed for what it is. I'm not going to dock any points because Rogue brews such unexciting but consistently good ales.

22oz bottle purchased from Ancona's in Ridgefield, Ct. Pours the expected red tinged amber under a nice fluffy/creamy oatmeal head, that leaves all kinds of nicely developed lace. Pungent fruit infused hop nose. Allowed to warm up quite a bit, this one shows off its style and quality in waves of smooth malty layers and a quite respectable and suprising hop crunch. Pineapple, citrus and all sorts of hop oil goodness. Nice stuff and always a treat to enjoy something and new and, of course, damn good from Rogue

Taste: malt, cream, dark fruit--grapefruit and hops--especially towards the end

Mouthfeel: prickly due to carbonation, light body, with a sharp bitter aftertaste

Drinkability: Very smooth, but not as much flavor as I typically get with this style. Rogue to me is one of my biggest hit or miss breweries. When they are on, you will find none better. This one missed my palate and my tasting buddies agreed that it missed theirs. While this is not a bad beer, one is enough.

Poured into a conical Flying Monkeys glass in honour of the hoppy communion I am about to receive. A sludgy, muddy coloured brew, not entirely unlike the underwater silt in which one might possibly sift for crawfish. Sandy sediment on the bottom of the glass. Not the most visually appealing beer, but certainly a quality head and excellent lacing and retention.

And thus end my criticisms of this beer.

The nose is a brilliant mix of juicy, leafy, citrussy West coast hops and delectable caramel malts.

Tastes like a citrussy and bitter IPA, but with the earthiness and richness of a red ale. Caramel malts up front, transitioning to that lovely blend of earth and citrus, leaving a long, citrus and biscuit finish. Lighter carbonation, thick bodied, slightly gritty or silty from the sediment.

A highly enjoyable brew, hearty and full of West Coast goodness. Will be back for more of this ere the release is complete. Great stuff!

Ale poured out a rich, cloudy copper/amber colour. Smelled of sweet malt with citrus and floral hop notes. Tasted just like it smelled; sweet malt taste which transitioned smoothly into the citrus and floral hops. Lingering sweetness.

Has a pleasant, sugary/flowery nose that simultaneously promises a nice shock of hops.

Both of these follow through on the tongue, though the grapefruit-sour hops far and away prove the dominant flavor, almost masking the malt‚ which is impressive, considering that there are four different kinds of malt in here (2-Row Pale, Munich, Carastan and Chocolate). If you look hard enough beneath the hops, you can find other flavors, such as light fruits, lovely toasted grains, and just a hint of darkly roasted chocolate malts. The official description of this ale is that the "hop flavor soon fades into the malty backbone." For me, however, this doesn't prove true at all; instead, the hops are present throughout the mouthful, making this brew taste quite similar to a strong IPA (though it's classified as an India Red Ale, according to the brewer).

So if you like hops, this is going to be a good beer for you, as the combination of the Horizon, Amarillo and Cascade varieties brings about some nice interplay of bitter flavors. But if bitterness is not your bag of bananas, you may want to stay away.